Hollywood was out in force on Sunday, January 8, to celebrate the brightest talents of the past year at the 74th annual Golden Globe Awards. And while some of the evening’s big moments were pretty heavily anticipated (we’re looking at you, La La Land, with your bazillion golden trophies), there were still some shocks scattered throughout. From surprise showings to bummer snubs and a series of wins for diverse performers in an industry often accused of discouraging change, here are the biggest unexpected curveballs from the Globes. (Watch the top moments from the show in the video above!)
A Big Night for Black Voices
After an opening number that poked fun at last year’s #SoWhite awards-show backlash, the Golden Globes did one better than to simply have a diverse pool of nominees: The winners this year included Viola Davis for Fences, Tracee Ellis Ross for Black-ish and a double showing for Atlanta, as Donald Glover won for best actor in a TV comedy and the show itself won for best comedy series. (Glover, collecting the latter award, thanked “black folks in Atlanta” in his acceptance speech.)
And in a moment that might herald big things come Oscar night, Moonlight ended up being the surprise winner for best drama, although it didn’t have to contend with La La Land, which dominated the comedy/musical categories.
The Crown Goes Gold
Despite a shocking snub for John Lithgow (who got a shout-out from costar Claire Foy in her speech), The Crown was still a surprise darling at the Golden Globes this year. Foy won first for her eerily on-point performance as the young Queen Elizabeth II, before the show itself took the award for best TV drama, beating out big-deal and big-budget contenders such as Westworld and Stranger Things. God save the queen … to your Netflix queue.
This … Isn’t Us
Despite being one of the best-loved new shows on television this year, This Is Us was sadly passed over in both its nominated categories. Chrissy Metz and Mandy Moore had bids for best supporting actress but were beaten by The Night Manager‘s Olivia Colman (who was absent from the ceremony). Also losing was This Is Us actor Sterling K. Brown, who wasn’t nominated for that show but in the limited-series supporting-actor category for his role as Christopher Darden on The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. (The Night Manager‘s Hugh Laurie took that prize.)
And when it came to the award for best TV drama, The Crown was the winner — but, hey, if the Pearsons had to lose to someone, they could do worse than the royal family.
Sacré Bleu!
In a year where there were few clear favorites for the various acting categories, the Golden Globes still managed to deliver one big surprise: a best dramatic film actress award for Isabelle Huppert in the French-language film Elle. It’s already unusual for an actor to be nominated for a Globe for a role not in English, and even rarer for one to win, especially when facing such fierce competition as Natalie Portman in Jackie. This might explain why Huppert was practically hyperventilating with delight as she celebrated her victory and then raced to the stage to make a breathless speech.
Another big-name star who lost out on receiving a trophy for a heralded role was Fences‘ Denzel Washington, who was praised in Casey Affleck‘s acceptance speech after the Manchester by the Sea star prevailed for best actor in a drama.
Streep Stirs Things Up
It’s never exactly a shock when awards shows include some political commentary, but this year’s big moment came from a surprise source: Hollywood grande dame Meryl Streep, who made a powerful statement as she collected the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. In a speech that stunned the room, she called out President-elect Donald Trump for a heartbreaking “performance” — referencing a moment during the 2016 campaign when Trump mocked a disabled reporter.
This big surprise also created the most suspenseful moment of the night, which is still unresolved: Will Trump take to Twitter to call Streep a loser and a hater? We’ll see!
Tell Us: Which Golden Globes snub bothered you the most?
